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Wade, Daly set for Sevens

England duo Christian Wade and Elliot Daly have both been named by Wasps in their squad for the upcoming Premiership Sevens.

Josh Bassett has also been named, alongside up-and-coming fly half Alex Lozowski and new signing Dan Robson, who was part of Gloucester’s title winning 7s squad last season.

Among the senior squad forwards in action at the Ricoh Arena, will be former England Sevens squad member Guy Thompson, fellow back-rowers Sam Jones and Thomas Young and lock Will Rowlands.

The Singha 7s will provide the first opportunity for new signings Brendan Macken (centre), Alex Rieder (back row) and Jamie Stevenson (scrum-half) to impress in black and gold, as well as a chance for academy players Owain James and Conor Dolan to make their mark and benefit from training alongside so many members of the senior squad.

Academy Manager Matt Davies, who will be in charge of Wasps’ 7s squad, spoke of the excitement building amongst the team for their first taste of competitive action in the 2015/16 season:

“This is the first opportunity the players will have, in what is an unusually long pre-season, to hit the ground with anger if you like,” said Davies.

“Due to the Rugby World Cup and the Aviva Premiership season kicking off later, it’s a 17-week pre-season, and so the Singha 7s will be the first highlight for players and fans to look forward to and a chance for players to test their fitness and play some rugby.

“In addition to that, we’re at home. We’ve already enjoyed some fantastic experiences at the Ricoh Arena since our move and as a squad and as a club, we are determined to make this another enjoyable occasion for our supporters.

“There’s a real buzz when you look through the names in this initial squad. It’s a really exciting group of players who can light up any Premiership field with their pace and skills, so we are looking forward to watching what they can do with the extra space you get on the field with 7s.

“Each player will have different personal aspirations at this phase of pre-season. It’s a huge opportunity for our younger academy players Owain James and Conor Dolan, to mix with the senior players and learn from being exposed to the levels required in this kind of tournament.

“Group C is a really tough group. Harlequins have traditionally been very successful in 7s and Saracens won this tournament a few years ago, while Northampton Saints have really talented squads for both 7s and 15s, so we know the challenge ahead of us.”